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They stood in Wakanda waiting. Waiting for the large purple titan to arrive. Everyone was tense as they remained side by side. Tony and Steve shared a brief glance with each other before the billionaire looked away. Steve wanted to apologise but Tony could not be bothered. Too much was going on to discuss what happened between the two. At the end of everything…Tony would willingly sit down and talk with Steve…if they survived that is.
“Strange, you know the plan?”
“Yes.”
“What happens if we get it off?” Strange’s face turned grave,
“A sacrifice must be made.” Is all the wizard said but the pair shared a look and Tony nodded in understanding.
A yell echoed. The fight started.
Thor arrived with a racoon, a peculiar tree creature and an axe in place of Mjölnir. A green lady arrived shortly in a spaceship with a blue robotic looking woman, a man from Earth, a large tattooed man and an alien woman with antennas. Any and all help was taken with gratitude.
With an eye on Spiderman and another on the Titan named Thanos, Tony charged with Stephen Strange and a few others, preparing to make the Titan bleed and hopefully, hopefully, kill him. It was farfetched but hey, they were the Avengers, they’d defeated the Chitauri in 2012, add in many more superheroes and maybe just maybe they stood a chance. They were ready to do anything to stop these beings from getting to Vision and therefore, the mind stone.
With a plan in mind, Tony, several guardians, Dr Strange and Spiderman attempted to pull the gauntlet from the mad mans hand.
They were surprisingly successful. But once it was off, Tony took off into the sky. No one knew what was happening but everything froze and the world fell silent as they watched the man in the machine get higher and higher. There was an explosion. Bits of the Iron Man machine fell to the ground as a body plummeted down. Thor caught him. Yet, there was a scream. It rang loudly throughout the battlefield. It came from none of the enemies who were quickly disintegrating into dust. Nor from Thanos, who was nothing but a speck of dust. It was from a young boy. His mask had dropped and as the helmet from Iron Man dropped in front of him…his scream became louder.
He shouted. He screamed. He struggled. War Machine was behind him, holding the young boy close and tight. Stopping him from running to the wreckage where Thor had gently placed Tony’s bloody and slightly burnt corpse now lay.
“Let me go! No! Mr Stark! No!” His screams were unbearable, but Tony’s best friend simply held onto the struggling boy even though he was crying too.
No one knew what to do. So many felt ashamed at their actions towards the man who had just sacrificed himself for the whole universe. Yet no one was as distraught as Peter Parker. His mentor and father-figure was gone. Spiderman couldn’t have done anything. He had been helpless as the man he cared about so much killed himself to protect everyone.
“This is your fault! You told him to!” Peter yelled at Stephen, whose eyes held sadness, “Why? Why couldn’t someone else have done it!”
“Peter.” His voice was surprisingly soft and soothing, “There was no other way.”
——LINE BREAK——
That night Peter sat in his room. The door was locked and no one could get in. He was mourning the loss of a great man. His laptop suddenly flickered on.
“Hey, kid.” At the sound of Tony’s voice, Peter immediately looked up, his eyes wide, “I…for once I don’t know what to say. I made this because I knew…I knew shit would hit the fan and in the end, someone would make a sacrifice. So, if you’re seeing this then, I guess I did. Strange and I…we talked it over and in the end, there was no other way. I had to be the one to destroy the gauntlet and stones.” The man on screen sighed heavily and wiped a hand over his face, “I’m sorry, kid. Really, I’m sorry. I’ve left you everything in my workshop and lab. Take care of my bots please…and tell them daddy’s sorry for not coming home. I trust you enough to not make fun of me for seeing them as my kids. When you’re older and everything’s blown over, go to Pepper as I’ve left Stark Industries for you. Don’t give me that look. When Pep’s ready to retire, you can take over. I know you’ll do a hell of a good job. You’re a smart kid. An amazing one. I’m sorry, Peter. I wish there had been another way…” He sighed once more and seemed to be debating whether to say what he clearly wanted to, “I never…I never wanting children. I was always afraid I’d…I’d be like my own dad. That I’d fuck up or fuck them up like my dad did with me. But, well, I guess in the end, kid, I came to look at you as my own…as my son and…and I hope I was a good…well, whatever you saw me as to be honest. A good mentor maybe or friend perhaps…maybe just maybe even a father figure?” The hope in the man’s eyes made Peter choke on a sob as tears continued to cascade down his face, “Anyway…I’m sorry, again. Good luck and goodbye, Peter. I love you, kid.”
“Love you too…dad.” He whispered through a wail that tore through his throat.